George Nemeth · I’m a cilantro lover

February 13th, 2009

What about you?

At the annual Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio, Dr. Wysocki and fellow researchers asked 41 pairs of identical twins and 12 pairs of fraternal twins to rate the “pleasantness” of cilantro. His scale ranged from plus 11 to minus 11, with zero indicating “neither pleasant nor unpleasant.” More than 80% of the identical twins gave ratings similar to their siblings, while only 42% of the fraternal twins did — suggesting cilantro hatred may be a genetic trait. But Dr. Wysocki cautions that he hasn’t yet analyzed enough fraternal twins to draw a firm conclusion.

Dr. Wysocki contends dislike of cilantro stems from its odor, not its taste. His hypothesis is that those who don’t like it are unable to detect chemicals in the leaf that are pleasing to those who like the herb…

WSJ: Across the Land, People Are Fuming Over an Herb (No, Not That One)

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6 Comments »

6 Responses to “I’m a cilantro lover”

  1. Jeff Says:
    February 13th, 2009 at 1:17 pm

    I love cilantro. Consider, for example, that I once made cilantro pesto, complete with habaneros and cotija cheese.

    But I’ve had people – I’d guess less than 10% of those I spoke with – say that cilantro tastes overwhelmingly of soap. Everybody else seemed to be OK with it.

  2. Carole Cohen Says:
    February 13th, 2009 at 3:48 pm

    I have a friend who agrees that the smell is why she is not a cilantro fan. I’ll have to ask her if others in her family share her feelings. As for me, I’m with you George. Fascinating!

  3. Carole Cohen Says:
    February 13th, 2009 at 3:50 pm

    Reminds me that I could always start a Facebook group called I Hate Anchovies :-)

  4. Carla Rautenberg Says:
    February 13th, 2009 at 8:47 pm

    LOVE cilantro. Also arugula. Had tapas tonight at Darna on Shaker Sq, a great new Moroccan place. Can recommend the chef’s trio of salads (beet, eggplant & carrot–all delicious) and the roasted mussels. Check it out. I will definitely go back.

  5. lmcshane Says:
    February 13th, 2009 at 10:12 pm

    How about epazote? I love cilantro, too. But, epazote is growing all over Tremont. It has the same industrial scent as cilantro, but a genetic trait? Who cares?

  6. anastasia Says:
    February 16th, 2009 at 11:01 pm

    Thanks for this great link. I love cilantro which I grow (I also grow epazote). I love virtually every herb though, except borage, but that’s because I hate how it looks. I don’t think anyone actually uses it for anything.